Sideline test helps diagnose concussions

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- A quick visual test, easily administered on the playing field, is promising as a complement to other diagnostic tools for concussions, U.S. researchers say.

Dr. Laura Balcer, a professor of neurology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia who was the study's lead author, and colleagues say athletes with concussions scored an average of 5.9 seconds slower than the best baseline scores in healthy people used as control subjects on the timed test.

With the King-Devick test, originally used as a dyslexia test, athletes read a series of numbers on cards, and are scored on time and accuracy.

The test detects impaired eye movements and rapid eye movements called saccades, indicating diminished brain function, Balcer says.

"This test has demonstrated its ability to provide objective evidence to aid medical professionals and trainers in determining which athletes need to come out of games after a blow to the head," Balcer says in a statement.

"We'll continue to measure the test's effectiveness in different groups -- players who play the same position who have and have not suffered concussions, for instance. It is our hope that the new test, once validated, can be folded into the current sideline battery of tests for concussion, as no single test at this time can be used to diagnose or manage concussion."

The findings are published online in the Journal of the Neurological Sciences.